


The Consequences of Hubris

by The_General_Gist



Series: The Ideas Guy [13]
Category: Kingdom Hearts (Video Games)
Genre: Meta, non-fiction
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-10
Updated: 2020-07-10
Packaged: 2021-03-05 06:14:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 332
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25179772
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/The_General_Gist/pseuds/The_General_Gist
Summary: I think the one thing most players miss is the Reaction Command gimmick, myself included. However, there might be a story-based reason as to why it was excluded in Kingdom Hearts III.
Series: The Ideas Guy [13]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1761313
Kudos: 6





	The Consequences of Hubris

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [The Heroine's Journey of Sora](https://archiveofourown.org/works/24448162) by [The_Violet_Howler](https://archiveofourown.org/users/The_Violet_Howler/pseuds/The_Violet_Howler). 



To start things off, I want to clarify what Reaction Commands are. In short; they're reactions. Logic defying reactions, to be sure, you can't just steal an enemy's ability like you do when fighting Xaldin or Dragoons(something I blame Xion for, given her copy ability), but reactions none the less.

Now that that's out of the way, let's discuss Sora's development in gameplay.

KH1: Sora's journey is just beginning. He's relatively self-trained, which makes his combat style relatively rough around the edges when put into an actual fight.

Chain of Memories: Castle Oblivion's card system is a pure gimmick, no 'ifs,' 'ands,' or 'buts' about it. However, with Ansem's defeat and basically saving the universe, Sora's confidence is soaring and he's thusly more than willing to try new and interesting combinations of cards, granting him powers he didn't have on his previous journey.

KH2: Again, after saving the universe, Sora is over the roof with confidence. Add in Roxas' anger and what you get is a keyblade wielder who knows who their enemy is and has the confidence to adapt on the fly; thus Reaction Commands were born.

Dream Drop Distance: Sora has effectively saved the universe twice. Bad guys defeated, friends reunited, and all is right with the world. Except it isn't. Not only is Maleficent still out there, but Xehanort could very well return. Whatever. Sora has saved the universe twice, doing so a third time should be a cake walk. Basically, Sora isn't taking the Mark of Mastery exam seriously, and that costs him.

KH3: In Dream Drop Distance, Sora thought himself invincible. He was wrong, and where is he now? With his failure of the exam fresh in his mind and his friends either laughing at his expense or not-so-subtly walking on eggshells around him. Even with the whole 'fight with all my heart' stuff, Sora is still unnerved by his fallibility. He's lost the confidence for the wild, on-the-fly decision making that is the Reaction Command.


End file.
